Conventional Crop Management Research Articles

The Landscape Ecological Quality of Two Different Farm Management Models: Polyculture Agroforestry vs. Conventional

Low-intensity, diversified agricultural land use is needed to counteract the current decline in agrobiodiversity. Landscape ecology tools can support agrobiodiversity assessment efforts by investigating biodiversity-related ecological functions (pattern–process paradigm). In this study, we test a toolkit of landscape ecology analyses to compare different farm management models: polyculture agroforestry (POLY) vs. conventional monoculture crop management (CV). Farm-scale analyses are applied on temperate alluvial sites (Po Plain, Northern Italy), as part of a broader multi-scale analytical approach. We analyze the landscape ecological quality through landscape matrix composition, patch shape complexity, diversity, metastability, and connectivity indices. We assess farm differences through multivariate analyses and t-tests and test a farm classification tool, namely, a scoring system based on the relative contributions of POLY farms, considering their deviation from a local CV baseline. The results showed a separate ecological behavior of the two models. The POLY model showed better performance, with significant positive contributions to the forest and semi-natural component equipment and diversity; agricultural component diversity, metastability; total farm diversity, metastability, connectivity, and circuitry. A reference matrix for the ecological interpretation of the results is provided. Farm classification provides a quick synthesis of such contributions, facilitating farm comparisons. The methodology has a low cost and quickly provides information on ongoing ecological processes resulting from specific farm management practices; it is intended to complement field-scale assessments and could help to meet the need for a partially outcome-based assessment of good farm practice.

Assessing the influence of planting time and fertilization on growth, flowering, yield and soil properties of chrysanthemum

ObjectivesTo identify optimal planting time for maximizing growth and flowering, and assess the impacts of various fertilization techniques on plant growth and soil health in chrysanthemum. MethodsThe investigation was conducted at Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India from 2022 to 2023. The study aimed to investigate the impact of various planting times and fertilization schedules on the yield, quality, and soil health characteristics of chrysanthemum. Different planting times from 15 June to 30 August under organic and inorganic fertilization regimes were evaluated. Data related to vegetative growth, flowering, soil chemical and biological properties were recorded. ResultsPlantingon15 June along with inorganic fertilization resulted in improved vegetative characters like plant height (74.37 cm) and plant spread (30.56 cm), flowering characters like cut flower stem length (64.07 cm), stem strength (10.40°), flower diameter (11.80 cm) and duration of flowering (22.50 days) and soil chemical properties like available N, P, K (326.53, 40.36 and 359.48 kg/ha, respectively). However, planting on June 15 combined with organic fertilization led to enhancement in soil microbiological properties, including bacterial count (138.33 cfu/g soil), fungal count (31.75 cfu/g soil), actinomycetes count (62.46 cfu/g soil), microbial biomass (52.62 µg/g soil) as well as vase life (19.70 days). ConclusionIn the present study, it was found that planting time and fertilization significantly impacted chrysanthemum growth, yield and soil properties. The 15 June planting with inorganic fertilization boosted growth, yield and macronutrient content, while organic fertilization on the same date enhanced soil microflora. Flowering was influenced by planting time and organic fertilization showed promise as an alternative to chemical fertilization. Optimizing planting schedules and using organic fertilizers would lead to sustainability and offer economically viable alternatives to conventional crop management.

Exploring strategies for agricultural sustainability in super hybrid rice using the food-carbon-nitrogen-water-energy-profit nexus framework

The breakthrough in super hybrid rice yield has significantly contributed to China's and global food security. However, the inherent conflict between high productivity and environmentally sustainable agriculture poses challenges. Issues like water scarcity, energy crises, escalating greenhouse gas emissions, and diminishing farm profitability all threaten agricultural sustainability. In response to these challenges, we applied a holistic food-carbon-nitrogen-water-energy-profit (FCNWEP) nexus framework to comprehensively evaluate sustainability of distinct crop management strategies across three sub-sites in central China. Field experiments were conducted in Hubei and Hunan Provinces from 2017 to 2021, with a widely adopted elite super hybrid rice (Y-liangyou900). Four crop management treatments were implemented: a control (CK, 0 kg N ha-1), conventional crop management (CCM, 210-250 kg N ha-1, 7:3 basal: mid-tiller fertilizer ratio), and two integrated crop management treatments (ICM1, 180-210 kg N ha-1, 5:2:3 basal: mid-tiller: panicle initiation fertilizer ratio; ICM2, 240-270 kg N ha-1, 5:2:2:1 basal: mid-tiller: panicle initiation: flowering fertilizer ratio). Grain yield, carbon footprint, nitrogen footprint, energy footprint, nitrogen use efficiency and economic benefits were among the assessed variables. Our results showed that significant yield variations were observed, with ICM2 consistently outperforming CCM and ICM1 across the three sites. In Jingzhou, Suizhou, and Changsha, ICM2’s grain yield was 30.2, 24.7, and 13.3% higher than CCM, respectively. Additionally, net profits for ICM2 exceeded those of CCM and ICM1 by 31.8 and 115.2% in Jingzhou, 32.2 and 109.9% in Suizhou, and 15.4 and 34.0% in Changsha. Integrated crop managements, specifically ICM2, demonstrated improved nitrogen and energy use efficiency, resulting in reduced carbon, nitrogen, water, and energy footprints. Overall, composite sustainability scores, calculated using the FCNWEP framework, indicated that both ICM2 and ICM1 generally exhibited higher sustainability levels compared to CCM. This study offers valuable insights into practical management methodologies and provides recommendations for enhancing agricultural sustainability.

Multi-Layer Architecture for Enhancing Crop Quality with AI and IoT: A Structural Modelling Approach

Conventional crop management methods must be improved to address the increasing global food requirements. The exponential growth of the population exacerbates the issue at hand, the impacts of climate change and inadequate farming practices. This study analyzes the key determinants contributing to establishing a comprehensive framework for using Internet of Things (IoT) technology in the agricultural sector. The proposed Multi-Layer Architecture for Crop Quality (MLA-CQ) employs a modified version of the Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (mv-TISM) methodology to achieve this objective. This research used a mv-TISM approach to build and analyze the interrelationships among various factors that influence the adoption of IoT technology in the agriculture industry. This study introduces Artificial Intelligence (AI) by incorporating soft sensors into a remote sensing framework via deep learning. The initial data has undergone pre-processing procedures to identify and address missing values and perform data cleaning and noise reduction on the picture data obtained from farmland. Following the feature representation, a categorization procedure was performed employing an ensemble design. The suggested approach has been used to conduct experimental trials on various crops, resulting in a computing time reduction of 62%, accuracy of 95.2%, precision of 91.3 %, recall of 92.3%, and an F score of 93.1%.

Management practices influence biocontrol potential of generalist predators in maize cropping systems

AbstractIntensification of conventional agriculture is a leading cause of negative environmental impact, loss of biodiversity, and reduced delivery of ecosystem services in agroecosystems. Maize, due to its growth habits and cultivation management, provides a poor habitat for beneficial arthropods. Several strategies are available to make maize cropping systems more sustainable and to promote biodiversity at field level. The present study evaluates the effects of various maize cropping systems – precisely, maize continuous monoculture, maize multiple cropping, and three mixed cropping systems (maize‐runner bean, maize‐sorghum, and maize‐flower strips) – on generalist predators and their biological control potential. Overall, we found that the reference system with maize continuous monoculture and conventional crop management had the lowest activity of generalist predators compared in particular to the low‐input mixed cropping systems. Higher activity density and biocontrol potential were found in the systems that provided a dense and permanent vegetation cover of the ground (i.e., maize/sorghum, maize/flower strip). Although these effects were not consistent for all the parameters investigated and for every sampling date, we conclude that generalist predators can benefit from more conservative management practices in maize systems, thereby enhancing their biological pest control potential. Furthermore, spatial intercropping may represent a valid alternative to the conventional monocultural crop system to support the delivery of biodiversity‐mediated ecosystem services towards a more sustainable system.

Approaches to Integrated Pest Management in Orchards: Comstockaspis perniciosa (Comstock) Case Study

Insect pests have major effects on agricultural production and food supply. Pest control in conventional crop management in orchards is mainly based on agrochemicals, which entails economic, health and environmental costs. Other approaches, such as biological methods or products based on biologically active substances and sex pheromones used for mating disruption, have faced some implementation challenges, particularly in relation to invasive insect species. The key for appropriate insect pest management is to identify the species and understand its biology and behaviour. Pest management systems should monitor, detect and inform fruit growers about changes in insect distribution, population ecology, possible damage level and economic loses. Comstockaspis perniciosa (San José scale—SJS) is a model example of a pest against which the method of integrated pest management should be adopted. This review presents a case study to support this statement.

The NPK1 gene increases sugarcane productivity under water deficit and conventional crop management conditions

The global demand for sugarcane products, such as ethanol, is growing and requires a rapid increase in sugarcane productivity to meet the market needs. On the other hand, water deficit has been successively limiting production in the majority of Brazil and world producing areas. We aimed to assess the industrial quality components and productivity of transgenic sugarcane containing gene NPK1 (Nicotiana protein kinase 1) from tobacco, under with and without water deficit conditions. Two experiments were conducted: one with and another without water deficit using the following genotypes: Agrobacterium and biolistics transrformation methods and a control (no transgenic). The industrial quality parameters ((soluble solids (Brix), Pol, fiber content, apparent purity, reducing sugars (RS), total recoverable sugar (TRS)) and total sugars (TS) productivity were evaluated end of each cycle. The industrial quality components did not differ under normal cultivation. However, the total sugar production per unit area of plants with the NPK1 gene was favored, resulting in a 66% increased from control plants. Under water deficit, the insertion of NPK1 gene promoted improvement of industrial quality components (Brix, Pol, and TRS) and increased by 102% the total sugar production, raw material for ethanol production. The results suggest that the insertion of the NPK1 gene in sugarcane is a promising strategy to increased productivity both under normal conditions and water deficit conditions. They may also indicate a sustainable way to mitigate the increasing global climatic variations that severely affect sugarcane crop.

Biological nitrogen fixation and prospects for ecological intensification in cereal-based cropping systems.

The demand for nitrogen (N) for crop production increased rapidly from the middle of the twentieth century and is predicted to at least double by 2050 to satisfy the on-going improvements in productivity of major food crops such as wheat, rice and maize that underpin the staple diet of most of the world’s population. The increased demand will need to be fulfilled by the two main sources of N supply – biological nitrogen (gas) (N2) fixation (BNF) and fertilizer N supplied through the Haber-Bosch processes. BNF provides many functional benefits for agroecosystems. It is a vital mechanism for replenishing the reservoirs of soil organic N and improving the availability of soil N to support crop growth while also assisting in efforts to lower negative environmental externalities than fertilizer N. In cereal-based cropping systems, legumes in symbiosis with rhizobia contribute the largest BNF input; however, diazotrophs involved in non-symbiotic associations with plants or present as free-living N2-fixers are ubiquitous and also provide an additional source of fixed N. This review presents the current knowledge of BNF by free-living, non-symbiotic and symbiotic diazotrophs in the global N cycle, examines global and regional estimates of contributions of BNF, and discusses possible strategies to enhance BNF for the prospective benefit of cereal N nutrition. We conclude by considering the challenges of introducing in planta BNF into cereals and reflect on the potential for BNF in both conventional and alternative crop management systems to encourage the ecological intensification of cereal and legume production.

Improvements in soil health and soil carbon sequestration by an agroforestry for food production system

Woody perennial cropping systems have the potential to produce food while maintaining or improving soil health relative to annual cropping systems. We used space-for-time substitution to assess soil health improvements by a Chinese chestnut – pawpaw agroforestry (AF) system in Iowa, USA relative to corn – soybean rotation (CSR), representing conventional annual crop management, and secondary forest (SF), which served as a natural woody perennial ecosystem reference point for improved soil health. We also compared several Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollisima Blume) and pawpaw (Asima trilobal (L.) Dunal) AF guilds, including single and double density chestnut monoculture, pawpaw monoculture, and chestnut and pawpaw polyculture, to evaluate the effects of tree density versus diversity on soil health. We found significant improvements in biogeochemical metrics of soil health for a mature (24 years old) AF system established on fields previously in annual crop production, relative to an adjacent no-till CSR system. Surface soil (0–30 cm depth) total and microbial stocks of carbon and nitrogen in the agroforestry system were greater in AF than in CSR, but less than in the SF. Soil carbon stocks down to one meter increased from CSR (62.7 Mg C ha-1 ± 3.22 SE) to AF (72.1 Mg C ha-1 ± 2.23 SE) and SF systems (80.8 Mg C ha-1 ± 4.46 SE), but did not differ between the two perennial systems. Acid - base chemistry in surface soils was similar between AF and CSR, but SF ecosystems had significantly higher pH, CECe, and percent base saturation than both cropping systems. We found few effects of AF guild (i.e. groupings of woody crop species) on the biogeochemical metrics of soil health, suggesting that modest increases in woody perennial crop density and diversity did not lead to further improvements to soil health. Overall, land conversion to agroforestry from annual crop production improved soil health and increased soil carbon sequestration.

Microbial Contributions for Rice Production: From Conventional Crop Management to the Use of 'Omics' Technologies.

Rice, the main staple food for about half of the world’s population, has had the growth of its production stagnate in the last two decades. One of the ways to further improve rice production is to enhance the associations between rice plants and the microbiome that exists around, on, and inside the plant. This article reviews recent developments in understanding how microorganisms exert positive influences on plant growth, production, and health, focusing particularly on rice. A variety of microbial species and taxa reside in the rhizosphere and the phyllosphere of plants and also have multiple roles as symbiotic endophytes while living within plant tissues and even cells. They alter the morphology of host plants, enhance their growth, health, and yield, and reduce their vulnerability to biotic and abiotic stresses. The findings of both agronomic and molecular analysis show ways in which microorganisms regulate the growth, physiological traits, and molecular signaling within rice plants. However, many significant scientific questions remain to be resolved. Advancements in high-throughput multi-omics technologies can be used to elucidate mechanisms involved in microbial–rice plant associations. Prospectively, the use of microbial inoculants and associated approaches offers some new, cost-effective, and more eco-friendly practices for increasing rice production.

Effect of Various Crop Management Practices on Growth, Yield and Net Return of Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.

A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Ummedganj, Kota (Rajasthan) during kharif 2018 and 2019 to evaluate the effect of conservation, organic and conventional crop management practices on growth and yield of soybean. Pooled data reveals that plant height (83.26 cm), number of branches (3.53), dry matter accumulation (17.51 g), leaf area index (3.73) and chlorophyll content in leaves (2.99 mg g-1) of soybean was recorded significantly higher under conservation chemical over the conservation organic and organic management + conventional tillage, which was statistically remained at par with package of practices and conventional chemical. However, number of root nodules (81.75) and dry weight of root nodules per plant of soybean at 60 DAS was recorded significantly higher values with conservation organic as compared to package of practices and conventional chemical, but its effect was found at par with organic management + conventional tillage. Significantly higher number of pods per plant (58.13), seed weight per plant (7.43g), seed yield (1850 kg ha-1), haulm yield (2824 kg ha-1) and net return (¹ 48549 ha-1) was recorded under conservation chemical as compared to conservation organic and organic management + conventional tillage, which was remained statistically at par with package of practices and conventional chemical.

Long‐term organic management combined with conservation tillage enhanced soil organic carbon accumulation and aggregation

AbstractSuccessful synergy between organic management and conservation tillage could provide the best agroecological benefits by minimizing the negative effects of both synthetic chemicals and intensive tillage on soils. We studied the long‐term impacts of conventional and organic crop management under different tillage regimes on soil organic C (SOC) and soil aggregation, leveraging Rodale Institute's long‐term Farming Systems Trial. The experiment was initiated in 1981 with three cropping systems under intensive tillage management: (a) conventional (3‐yr rotation of corn–corn–soybean) with synthetic fertilizer application, (b) organic–legume (4‐yr rotation of corn–oats–soybean/wheat–wheat) organic system with legume as sole N source, and (c) organic–manure (8‐yr rotation of soybean/wheat–wheat/hay–hay–hay–corn silage/wheat–wheat–corn–oats) organic system with composted manure and legumes as N sources. There were eight replications for each of these cropping systems when the trial was initiated in 1981. In 2008, four replicates of each cropping system treatment were placed under conservation tillage management. Soils were collected from 0 to 10‐, 10 to 20‐, and 20 to 30‐cm depths in 2018 and measured for total SOC, active SOC fractions (microbial biomass C, water extractable C, permanganate‐oxidizable C), aggregate size distribution, and wet aggregate stability. Overall, total and active SOC increased by 16–132% under organic management compared with conventional management and the increase was more pronounced under organic–manure treatment than organic–legume treatment. Results also showed that 10 yr of tillage treatments did not influence active and total SOC concentrations, but influenced dry aggregate size distribution and wet aggregate stability. This study suggests that in long‐term organic cropping systems, incorporated composted manure and perennial hay vs. legumes alone accumulated the greatest amount of SOC compared with conventional systems. Conservation tillage in organic systems improved aggregation; however, beyond 10 yr, it is necessary to reflect tillage effects on SOC.

LCA-Based Environmental Performance of Olive Cultivation in Northwestern Greece: From Rainfed to Irrigated through Conventional and Smart Crop Management Practices

Olive cultivation is expanding rapidly in the northwestern part of Greece, under both rainfed and irrigated practices. Irrigation can result in larger yields and economic returns, but trade-offs in the water–energy–pollution nexus remain a controversial and challenging issue. This study presents an environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Greek olive orchard systems in the plain of Arta (Epirus), comparing rainfed (baseline), Decision Support System (DSS)-based (smart) irrigation practices and farmer experience-based (conventional) irrigation practices. The contributions in this paper are, first, to provide a first quantitative indication of the environmental performance of Greek olive growing systems under different management strategies, and second, to detail the advantages that can be achieved using smart irrigation in olive cultivation in the Greek and Mediterranean contexts. Eighteen midpoints (e.g., climate change, water scarcity, acidification, freshwater eutrophication, etc.), two endpoints (damages on human health and ecosystem quality), and a single score (overall environmental impact) were quantified using the IMPACT World+ life cycle impact assessment method. The LCA model was set up using the OpenLCA software v1.10.3. The functional units were 1 ton of product (mass-based) and 1 ha of cultivated area (area-based) on a cradle-to-farm gate perspective. Irrigated systems had the lowest impacts per mass unit due to higher yields, but showed the highest impacts per cultivated area. The DSS-based irrigation management could reduce water and energy use by 42.1% compared to conventional practices. This is translated into a reduction of 5.3% per 1 ton and 10.4% per 1 ha of the total environmental impact. A sensitivity analysis of impact assessment models demonstrated that the benefits could be up to 18% for 1 ton of product or 22.6% for 1 ha of cultivated land. These results outline that DSS-based irrigation is a promising option to support less resource-intensive and sustainable intensification of irrigated agriculture systems in the plain of Arta.

Greenhouse gas emission from rice fields: a review from Indian context.

Agricultural soil acts as a source and sink of important greenhouse gases (GHGs) like methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2). Rice paddies have been a major concern to scientific community, because they produce the threatening and long-lasting GHGs mainly CH4 and N2O. Around 30% and 11% of global agricultural CH4 and N2O, respectively, emitted from rice fields. Thus, it is urgent to concurrently quantify the fluxes of CH4 and N2O to improve understanding of both the gases from rice fields and to develop mitigation strategies for upcoming climate change reduction. An effort is being made in this review to discuss exclusively the emission of CH4 and N2O under normal and controlled conditions in different locations of India and also addresses the current synthesis of available data on how field and crop management activities influence CH4 and N2O emissions in rice fields. Making changes to conventional crop management regimes could have a significant impact on reducing GHG emissions from rice field. Environmental and agricultural factors related to soil could be easily altered by management practices. So, knowing the mechanism of CH4 and N2O production and release in the rice field and factors controlling the emissions is fundamental to develop well-organized strategies to reduce emissions from rice cultivated soil. This will help the regulatory bodies or policy makers to formulate adequate policies for agricultural farmers to refine the GHG emissions as well as minimize the global climate change.

Content and distribution of major and trace elements as a tool to assess the genotypes, harvesting time, and cultivation systems of potato

The effects of organic versus integral and conventional crop management on content and distribution of major and trace elements in different varieties of potato were investigated in a three year field trial. A set of 48 potato tubers of four varieties with different harvesting times, cultivated in three types of agricultural systems: conventional (C), integral (I), and organic (O) were characterized based on the composition of the elements of their bulk and peel. A total of 16 elements were quantified. In order to determine the source of variation among the types of production, parts of potato and varieties, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted. The results indicate that Ca, Mg, and K may be considered as important indicators of the type of production, genotypes of potato, and harvesting time. Additionally, the analyses show that ten microelements are able to distinguish between production types and genotypes of potato.

Assessment of the Adoption of Organic and Conventional Farming Methods in Kisii Central Sub-County, Western Kenya

This study sought to determine the extent of adoption of various organic and conventional crop and soil management practices in the farms. Ten farms were sampled at an equidistance of one kilometre along a transect laid across each of the eight randomly selected sub-locations in the sub county. A sample size of 80 farms was randomly selected from the Sub-County. The eighty farms were regrouped into two; Organic and conventional farms. A survey of the crop management practises was carried out and the observed methods recorded down. The data collected was analyzed using the Statistical paired t test and descriptive statistics. Use of pesticides recorded the highest percentages (60%) in conventional methods while mulching recorded relatively high percentage (42%) in organic methods. Use of plastic cover recorded the lowest percentage of 4% in conventional methods while vermin-compositing was not embraced in conventional methods. Conventional methods were 3.33 points higher than organic (95% CI [-9.37596, 16.04263]). Conventional and Organic farming methods were strongly and negatively correlated (r = -0.069, p > 0.05). However, there was no statistical significant difference between conventional and organic methods (t5 = 0.674, p > 0.05), [Appendix 1(iii)]. The knowledge obtained will be useful to the farmers and other participants globally to improve crop productivity. The information collected will also enable farmers seek for unconventional ways to alleviate the problem of heavy usage of agrochemicals in order to embrace organic farming for the long run sustainability of the agricultural sector.

Fertigation Methods and N Source on Chili through Drip Irrigation

Chili (Capsicum frutescens L.) has an important role in Indonesian cuisine. Conventional crop management with less-efficient fertilizer application was still commonly implemented by farmers; on the other hand, fertilizer application through fertilizer will increase yield and reduce production costs. Research objectives were to find out the best fertilizer application methods through drip irrigation and obtain a nitrogen fertilizer source that can increase polyethylene mulched chili yield. This research was conducted in Inceptisol (Dytropept Fluventik, Isohiperthermik) soil type. The experiment was conducted at Bogor Agricultural University Research Station, Cikarawang, from June to December 2016. The first experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three methods of fertilizer applications: split, drip, and conventional (no fertigation). The second experiment, from March to October 2017, was arranged in RCBD, with three N sources (Urea (46% N), ZA (21% N), and NPK (16-16-16)% N-P2O5,-K2O), with four replications. Results showed that split and drip fertigations had no different effect on total and marketable yield; however, the yields of both treatments were higher than that of conventional applications. The second experiment results showed that all N sources did not affect the growth and yield of chili.Keywords: fertilization, nitrogen, micro-irrigation, polyethylene mulch

Changes in the core endophytic mycobiome of carrot taproots in response to crop management and genotype

Fungal endophytes can influence production and post-harvest challenges in carrot, though the identity of these microbes as well as factors affecting their composition have not yet been determined, which prevents growers from managing these organisms to improve crop performance. Consequently, we characterized the endophytic mycobiome in the taproots of three carrot genotypes that vary in resistance to two pathogens grown in a trial comparing organic and conventional crop management using Illumina sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene. A total of 1,480 individual operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified. Most were consistent across samples, indicating that they are part of a core mycobiome, though crop management influenced richness and diversity, likely in response to differences in soil properties. There were also differences in individual OTUs among genotypes and the nematode resistant genotype was most responsive to management system indicating that it has greater control over its endophytic mycobiome, which could potentially play a role in resistance. Members of the Ascomycota were most dominant, though the exact function of most taxa remains unclear. Future studies aimed at overcoming difficulties associated with isolating fungal endophytes are needed to identify these microbes at the species level and elucidate their specific functional roles.

Improved water management practices improve cropping system profitability and smallholder farmers’ incomes

In the Eastern Gangetic Plain of South Asia, cropping systems under conventional crop management are frequently unprofitable due to the inefficient use of resources, particularly irrigation water and energy. Across the Eastern Gangetic Plain, farmers generally produce a wet-season rice crop followed by an irrigated dry season crop: maize has been recently introduced as the dry-season crop and is rapidly growing in popularity. Irrigation water is commonly applied using diesel-powered pumps and fluctuating fuel prices are a major factor affecting cropping system profitability. We hypothesised that the adoption of zero tillage crop establishment in a rice-maize system would reduce irrigation requirements compared to a conventionally-established rice-maize system, while maintaining comparable crop yields. Thus, higher water use efficiency and economic profitability would be achieved under the improved crop management compared to conventional practice. Field experiments over two years in Sabour, Bihar, demonstrated that early sowing of maize resulted in 8% higher maize grain yields, while zero tillage establishment produced 7% higher maize grain yields than conventionally established maize. Using the APSIM cropping systems model we tested our hypothesis over 49 years, from 1969 to 2018. Over the longer-term, zero-till maize grain yields were 9% higher than those of conventionally established crops. Under these improved management practices fuel savings of 8–15 % and labor savings of 34–43 % were achieved compared to conventionally managed crops, leading to higher water use efficiency in all treatments under improved management. Overall, gross margins in rice-maize systems under improved management practices were 20–39 % higher than rice-maize systems under conventional management. In rice-maize cropping systems in the Eastern Gangetic Plain, improved crop management practices can improve the efficiency of water use and thus increase farming households’ profitability and incomes.

Soil microbial and macrofauna dynamics under different green manure termination methods

No-till green manure (Gmr) termination creates a unique situation compared to conventional no-till crop management due to the surface mulch generated. However, the impact this practice has on soil biota has been little researched, despite the important role soil biota play in soil ecosystem functions such as decomposition and pest control. This study examines how termination management of Gmr can affect soil biota and their population dynamics. Over two trials, Gmr tillage regimes of fall tilled, spring tilled, or no-till were applied to a spring planted Gmr of hairy vetch/oat (HVO) along with a typical regional practice of tilled red clover Gmr within a four-year grain rotation. Soil microbial biomass (SMB), earthworm density, and beetle and spider activity density were assessed up to three years following Gmr termination. SMB was greatest in the spring for no-till and fall tilled HVO Gmr treatments, but the effect was transient, disappearing after two months. Earthworm densities were negatively affected by tillage (88% and 86% less than no-till in Trial 1 and 2, respectively) but densities recovered three years after tillage to that of the no-till treatment. Beetle activity density was largely unaffected by Gmr termination. Spider captures were more numerous in no-till plots compared to spring tilled in one trial. Impacts of Gmr termination on soil organisms vary by taxa and earthworms were the most sensitive, taking two years to recover from tillage. No-till Gmr termination does not show clear benefits to soil biota.